100,000 crowd target a tactic to lure people, says Mat Sabu on Anti-Kleptocracy Rally s
ALOR STAR: Parti Amanah Negara (PAN) president Mohamad Sabu today admitted that the 100,000 crowd figure targeted for the recent Anti-Kleptocracy Rally in Petaling Jaya last Saturday, was merely a tactic to draw the crowd.
Mohamad, popularly known as Mat Sabu, said the number was meant attract the public, in particular youths, to the rally in Padang Timur.
He admitted that the "100,000" figure was a tactic to draw youths to the rally as Pakatan Harapan knew that young voters would be less interested in attending a 'ceramah' compared to a street demonstration.
"100,000 crowd was mere propaganda since we were holding a rally. The youths do not fancy attending 'ceramah' as they are more keen to take part in streets demonstrations. I know this very well because I underwent the same experience from my youth days till now.
"Actually our actual target was between 20,000 and 30,000 people and I am satisfied with the turnout as we collected RM68,000 in donations," he said.
Mat Sabu was speaking to 898 PAN delegates in his winding up speech at the party's annual delegates convention, here today.
He said that the main target demographic for the rally was Malays from rural areas, which he said explained nlthe small presence of the Chinese community.
"We did not go all out to promote the rally to the Chinese community as research showed that 80 per cent of the Chinese voters are already with us.
"So, the main target were the Malays, especially those from the rural areas and I am happy to see that 70 per cent of the crowd were people who are living outside the main cities," he said.
Observers had claimed that the rally was only attended by some 5,000 people but Mat Sabu maintained it was around 25,000 people, which was within the target set by Pakatan.
Mat Sabu later told delegates that he would never return to Pas, despite being invited by several Pas leaders in their own personal capacity.
"Most of the senior Pas members would warmly greet me whenever I come across them, mostly at airports and restaurants.
"They normally greet me and talk to me about the possibility of returning to the party but I know that those are the same people who run me down in Pas rallies and ceramah.
"So, I told them I will never trust their sweet words ever again," he said.
Mat Sabu, a former Pas deputy president, was with the party for 38 years before leaving two years ago to form PAN with several former Pas leaders following a serious fallout with the Islamic party's ulama faction leaders. © New Straits Times
